Bill Introduced to Ban Authorized Generics
Not content to wait until the FTC completes its study on authorized generics, Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis (re)introduced a bill on Wednesday “that would make it illegal for brand-name pharmaceutical manufacturers to produce generic versions of their own drugs.” UPI also reports that:
Eliminating so-called authorized generics — whereby a brand-drug manufacturer produces a generic version of its own drug after the drug goes off patent — is a “tremendous cost-saving alternative,” Kohl told reporters. “It would reduce the cost of medicine without hurting anyone. … There is also a possibility that a provision banning authorized generics will be included in the Senate version of a bill authorizing the secretary of health and human services to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare Part D, Kohl said. It could encourage drug companies to be more flexible at the negotiating table if the generic market is more competitive, he added. “It’s better to lose some of your profit than all of your business.”
According to the article, this bill is a “reintroduction” of the same as the one introduced this past summer.
[2/15 Update: Aaron Barkhoff of the Orange Book Blog reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill today.
2/16 Update: The bill that the Judiciary Committee passed is not this one, but one to prohibit reverse payment settlements of Hatch-Waxman litigation. My apologies for the error.]
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